Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 31st October 2018. It’s Martyn Lee here and I’ve been through EV story today so you don’t have to.

Happy Halloween! It’s spooky how many cars you can find to buy on MYEV.com these days. Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.

And hello to two new Patreon supporters again today, as new Producer of the Podcast at $5 (the one posh coffee a month level) its CHRIS GRANT, and new EXECUTIVE PRODUCER GEORGE CLARGO.

FARADAY FUTURE LOSES EV PIONEER AMID LAYOFFS

Any kind of departure from Tesla is front page news, we most recently heard about Larry The Lawn Guy moving on because after working at the Gigafactory for 5 years, they realised there were no lawns to mow in the desert. So it’s with some surprise I’m reporting on another car maker losing their Chief Engineer.

The Verge reports that: “Peter Savagian, a former chief engineer of General Motors’ famous (and ill-fated) EV1 electric car, has left his job as senior vice president at Faraday Future, two sources tell The Verge. The news comes one week after the electric car startup announced layoffs and salary cuts as a result of a fallout with China’s Evergrande Group, which is Faraday Future’s main investor. Savagian started at Faraday Future in the summer of 2016. He was one of a number of high-profile hires that helped bolster the company’s credibility in the early going, like former CEO of Ferrari North America Marco Mattiacci (who left in December of 2016), and Tesla’s former director of Model S manufacturing Dag Reckhorn (who is still with the company). Savagian led the development of the powertrain and battery for the company’s luxury electric SUV, the FF91, and was part of Faraday Future’s “senior executive leadership team,” according to his LinkedIn profile.”

BLINK AND HUBJECT FORM PARTNERSHIP INCREASING ACCESS TO ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING NETWORKS IN THE U.S.

Blink Charging Co., a leading owner, operator and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging station products and networked EV charging services, and Hubject, a joint venture formed by leading companies in the automotive, energy and technology sectors that includes BMW Group, Daimler, Siemens, and the Volkswagen Group announced today that they have formed a strategic partnership to provide EV drivers in the United States with expanded charging coverage and communication capabilities.

As a result of this partnership, Blink’s nationwide network of chargers will become accessible to all EV drivers participating in Hubject’s charging platform using their provider’s membership card and app. Furthermore, Blink’s base of approximately 135,000 members will now be able to quickly and easily access charging stations on Hubject participating networks while driving in the U.S., without having to register with any other charging companies. The partnership’s mission is to provide seamless charging interoperability for all EV drivers participating in Hubject’s international multi-network intercharge platform, dramatically expanding where EVs can charge as well as facilitate essential two-way telemetric communication between EV’s, charging networks and car manufacturers.

If you would like to listen to an interview I did with the US CEO of Hubject, Paul Denney, go back to 20th October or Show 271.

TESLA PUBLISHES THE PARTS CATALOG FOR ITS ELECTRIC CARS

“Unless you’re changing tires, you generally can’t fix a Tesla car yourself — not when the brand has made it difficult just to get documentation, let alone parts. It’s inching in the right direction, though. Tesla has published its parts catalog, detailing all the components for cars ranging from the original Roadster to the Model 3. You’ll even see schematics showing how everything fits together.” reports Engadget: “Just don’t expect to buy the parts yourself. You have to contact Tesla directly as a general rule, and some components are “restricted for use by your shop.” This is meant more for professional mechanics than amateur grease monkeys, and that’s not entirely surprising when parts can range from giant body panels to obscure motor components.”

Electra Meccanica today provided a corporate update on vehicle pre-orders the Company has received. As of October 22, 2018 Electra Meccanica had a total of 64,154 vehicle pre-orders across all models.

As of October 22, 2018 the Company had 23,030 pre-orders for the SOLO single-passenger electric vehicle, which has a $15,500 target MSRP, and 41,124 pre-orders for the Tofino two-seat roadster sports car, which has a $50,000 target MSRP.

All retail pre-orders require a refundable deposit, $250 for the SOLO and $1,000 for the Tofino. Dealer pre-orders require a letter of credit or letters of interest and all orders are non-binding.

The Company builds the innovative, all-electric SOLO, a single passenger vehicle developed to revolutionize the way people commute, and is developing the Tofino, an elegant high-performance two seater electric roadster sports car.

Baillie Gifford & Co, one of the top shareholders of Tesla Inc, has said it would be willing to inject more cash into the electric carmaker, the Times reported on Monday.

Baillie Gifford is Tesla’s third-largest shareholder with a 7.72 percent stake. Elon Musk tops the list with about 20 percent ownership of the electric carmaker followed by T.Rowe Price Associates Inc, which owns about 10 percent, according to Refinitiv data.

ELECTRIC EXCAVATOR NEEDED? CUMMINS AND HYUNDAI HAVE ONE FOR YOU

S. Kim, Senior Executive Vice President & CTO at Hyundai Construction Equipment (HCE) announced the new all electric excavator when unveiling the prototype: “As electric vehicles continue to expand their share in the automotive market, we are simultaneously seeing the electrification of commercial power systems being pursued by many as both an environmentally friendly and economically sustainable solution for construction equipment. HCE anticipates mini excavators, which operate in urban workplaces close to residential areas, will be a prime candidate to electrify to meet zero-emission and low noise requirements in the near future.”

Julie Furber, Executive Director Cummins said: “This electric powered mini excavator is an exciting celebration of the future of electrified construction equipment – combining the strengths of HCE’s versatile excavator with Cummins’ lithium ion battery solutions and machine integration expertise. Cummins is committed to pioneering the future of electrified power, and we look forward to continuing to partner with companies like HCE to design and test the industry’s latest technologies.”

UK BUDGET 2018: NO CLARIFICATION ON COMPANY CAR TAX UNTIL SPRING 2019

The Chancellor Philip Hammond failed to mention company car tax in his Budget speech, despite the fleet industry urgently calling for clarity” says Fleet News: John Webb, principal consultant at Lex Autolease: “Orders for diesel vehicles are being delayed in case any further tax increases are announced which could make them prohibitively expensive. Equally, the question over whether tax incentives will be maintained for electric vehicles will determine whether and when the immediate investment in an Ultra Low Emission Vehicle fleet will pay off.”

UNITI ANNOUNCES FIRST FULLY DIGITALIZED ELECTRIC VEHICLE PRODUCTION FACTORY IN THE U.K.

“Swedish electric vehicle manufacturer Uniti will establish the U.K.’s first fully digitalized electric vehicle (EV) production site at the heart of British Grand Prix racing: Silverstone Park. The pilot production plant will be used to make the Uniti One electric car. It will also serve as a test model for the company’s configurable factory-in-the-box model of assembly plants.” reports Engineering.com

The Uniti One is a 2-seat 100% electric city car with 240km of range, 130kmh top speed, 26kWh battery with DC Fast Charging and 25min from 20-80%.

Simon at Teslarati never misses a chance to talk about the new Tesla Roadster and those in LA were lucky to see it up close yesterday: “Tesla’s next-gen Roadster prototype made a rare appearance in Los Angeles over the weekend at the ArtCenter College of Design’s Car Classic 2018 exhibition. The weekend event celebrated the 70th anniversary of the College’s Transportation Design program, which has produced some of the world’s most iconic designers, including Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen and Tesla’s Director of Product Design, Javier Verdura. Earlier this year, Elon Musk noted on Twitter that the intent behind the creation of the next-generation Tesla Roadster is to “beat gas sports cars on every performance metric by far, no exceptions, thus transferring the “halo crown” effect gas cars have as the top speed leaders over to pure electric.” “

And thanks to MYEV.com they’ve set us another Question Of The Week. Keep your comments coming in on email and YouTube…

If you could put a public charger anywhere, where would you put it? If I wrote you a cheque for an EVSE and have it installed to make you life easier, where is that place?

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